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'I have never seen anything busy like this' | Holiday travelers hit the road for Thanksgiving

AAA says the best time to leave is Wednesday is before 11 a.m. They say highways are typically clear on Thanksgiving Day, too, if you can't leave early.

PEACH COUNTY, Ga. — If you want to make it in time for Thanksgiving dinner, you should get on the road early. 

AAA said almost 72 million people are expected to drive 50 miles or more from home. Almost six million are expected to fly.

At the Buc-ee’s in Peach County, people are fueling up before filling up on Thanksgiving food.

"We got in the car and hit the road at 5:00 o'clock this morning," Jamie Trim said.

That's the smart thing to do if you're traveling right now, according to AAA. They say the best time to leave Tuesday or Wednesday is before 11 a.m. 

Loc Pham and his family of eight are driving in an RV from Lakeland, Florida to Stone Mountain, Georgia. He said it's an eight-hour drive, so they left as early as possible to take breaks along the way and avoid traffic.

"Today, Buc-ee’s is busy,” he said. “I have never seen anything busy like this, but on the road, it is normal to me, probably still early."

Scott Burkhardt and his wife said they are driving 20 hours home before hosting people for Thanksgiving dinner.

"We have a house in Florida and we're going back to Wisconsin right now,” he said.

Luckily for them, AAA said gas prices are lower now than this time last year with most gas below $3 per gallon. Curtis Fields said he and his family of five left sooner to avoid Atlanta traffic.

"We left early because the rain,” he said. “We packed up in the rain, got going and hopefully it'll be nicer on the way home. So that's all the only plan we had today."

Atlanta made AAA’s Top Ten Thanksgiving Destination List. But Johnson and her two boys are headed to Disney World, which is where the number one place on the list is.

"We came from Atlanta, headed down to Orlando," she said.

AAA said the interstates and highways are typically clear on Thanksgiving Day so it might not be a bad idea to wait if you can't get out early tomorrow.

It's a good idea to start thinking about your road trip home, too. AAA said the best times to drive are Friday after 1 p.m. or Saturday and Sunday before 1 p.m.

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